Open source technology enables 3D printed operating table

A joint venture between Western Engineering and Michigan Tech University has succeeded in producing a 3D-printed operating table at a fraction of the usual cost. The work was published in the popular magazine PLOS ONE.

The study could have significant implications for developing countries, where the financial burden of medical devices is a barrier to universal access to health care. For example, the capital cost of a surgical fracture table is typically over $250,000.

Joshua Pierce

Joshua Pearce, John M. Thompson chair holder in Information Technology and Innovation at Western University, and his collaborators at Western Engineering and Michigan Tech University used an open source desktop 3D printer and made the necessary components for a low-cost operating table within a week of continuous stress.

The finished operating schedule costs just under $4,000, which corresponds to a 98.5 percent savings over commercially available systems. This radically improves not only affordability but also access, Pierce said.

“We want everyone in the world to have access to affordable medical care and this is a step toward making that happen,” Pearce said. “And when we help the less fortunate get better medical devices, we will make better medical devices for ourselves at lower cost, so that everyone really benefits.”

Availability all over the world

Nine of the World Bank’s priorities for cost-effective surgical procedures that should be widely available are orthopedic procedures. These include fracture treatment, external immobilization/traction, trauma amputation, repair of clubfoot deformities, septic arthritis drainage, and osteomyelitis removal.

An open surgical fracture table can assist surgeons with a variety of orthopedic procedures, but also general surgeries and gynecological and obstetric procedures. The materials available worldwide are used and the special components required can be easily 3D printed.

“Designs can be digitally shared and replicated anywhere in the world using digital manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing. We are still at the beginning of a distributed manufacturing revolution only,” Pearce says.

“Most of the things you have in your home, from toys to kitchen gadgets, already have CAD (Computer Aided Design) models that you can download and iterate with the right tools. While 3D printing your toys and gadgets is good for business, this study takes it a step further. forward and open the way to high-quality medical devices.”

Bottleneck in health care

In many places, operations are only possible to a limited extent due to the unaffordability of operating schedules, among other things. Health care workers do not always have the tools and technology to perform even simple procedures. The fracture table helps position the patient during the procedure, eliminating the need for medical staff to hold the patient during the procedure. The proposed inexpensive operating tables will help in this. And the best part about being open source is that it can be improved and built at a lower cost. This is exactly the hope.

“Medical technology is absurdly expensive. One way to cut costs is to allow all manufacturers to build these devices, sell them directly, and use some innovation, such as to incorporate the use of transparent 3D-printed parts we made into their own designs,” says Pierce. “This is by no means the ultimate fraction table. I am sure any decent engineer could improve it a bit, and that is what it was designed for – as a starting point for others to build upon.”

Ideally, this table is useful for hospitals that cannot afford such a table. And since the table design is freely available, the table can be built, used and repaired in the field. When surgeons and other health care workers need additional attachments and modifications, they can extend design functionality either by designing a modification themselves or by describing what they would like to see in the design and having others contribute to those designs.

Better Equipment

The open source breaking table can be adjusted in height from 90 to 116 cm and tilted +/- 15 degrees. The leg height ranges from 31 to 117 cm, the range of both the armrests and the foot stand is 180 degrees, the leg traction range is 54 cm, and the legs can be adjusted from 55 to 120 degrees. The open source operating table is ergonomically flexible to accommodate a wide range of common surgeries, has a payload capacity of over 130kg, is radioactive in surgical areas, and is fully modular and upgradeable.

The table is mechanically adjustable, so it requires no electricity. However, the surgical staff must be trained in how to make the necessary adjustments during the procedure.

Global health inequality

This ambitious project stems from the Western Frugal Biomedical Innovation Team, which is pioneering ways to close inequalities in Canadian and global healthcare by designing, developing, testing and deploying biomedical devices that meet the needs of much-needed communities.

The team is one of 24 change projects that received a total of $13.3 million in grants approved last spring. It is part of a unique $20 million Strategic Priority Fund that Western announced in last year’s budget to support key areas of the university’s Westward plan in its 150 Strategic Plans.

The authors of the Open Source Surgical Fracture Table for the Study of Digitally Distributed Manufacturing are Pierce, Jennifer Bow, Nicole Gallop, and Syed Ali El-Sadat.

Find out more about Western Engineering over hereFind out more about Michigan Tech University over here.